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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bore — to tire
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bore — to drill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pass — a permit
  22. scale — in music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com